Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Hong Kong: Ahead of the visit of 2016 winners Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors to current club Kitchee SC in their 2018 AFC Champions League home opener, Uruguay legend Diego Forlan sat down with the-AFC.com for an exclusive interview.
Two-time winner of both the Pichichi Trophy and the European Golden Shoe, and recipient of the Golden Ball as the best player at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Forlan is rightly regarded as one of the greatest Uruguayan players of all time.
While the now 38-year-old forward boasts a C.V. that includes Manchester United, Villareal, Atletico Madrid and Internazionale as his former employers, the man from Montevideo is solely focused on the challenge at current club Kitchee SC of Hong Kong.
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/jeonbuk_hyundai_motors.html


www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/forlan_tianjin.html

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Hong Kong: Kitchee SC will play their maiden home game in the AFC Champions League when they welcome two-time winners Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors to Hong Kong Stadium in Group E on Tuesday.
Kitchee suffered a 3-0 defeat to Tianjin Quanjian on their debut last week and can expect an equally tough time ahead of the visit of one of the continent’s powerhouses, who have lost just one of their past 11 AFC Champions League games.
Jeonbuk were two down at home to Kashiwa Reysol in their opening game, but a brace from the competition’s all-time leading scorer Lee Dong-gook either side of Kim Jin-su’s goal completed a superb comeback and all three points.
The K-League Classic side’s last away game in the tournament was a 1-1 draw with Al Ain in late 2016 that was enough to claim a 3-2 aggregate victory as they were crowned continental champions for a second time.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Kuala Lumpur: After some scintillating encounters in the first round of matches last week, the 16 teams in the East Zone are set return to AFC Champions League action in the week ahead.
Teams from Groups E and F will take centre stage on Tuesday, while the sides from Groups G and H will bring a close to Matchday Two’s fixtures on the continent on Wednesday.
Group E
The 2016 champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors produced a superb comeback to defeat Kashiwa Reysol 3-2 on their return to the competition and will travel to Hong Kong to face Kitchee SC on Tuesday.
Kitchee lost their maiden AFC Champions League game 3-0 against Tianjin Quanjian and will seek to give their fans something to cheer about when the two-time continental champions come to town.
Elsewhere, Tianjin will aim to build on their winning start when they travel to Japan to take on Kashiwa, who need to bounce back from their disappointing opening-day reversal after being two goals to the good against Jeonbuk.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Tianjin: Three goals in eight first-half minutes saw Tianjin Quanjian come out on top in the battle of the AFC Champions League debutants after the Chinese side claimed a 3-0 win over Hong Kong’s Kitchee SC in Group E at Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium on Tuesday.
After a quiet opening 20 minutes Alexandre Pato saw his effort from distance dip just over the Kitchee crossbar, but Tianjin’s superiority soon told as Anthony Modeste headed home Mi Haolun’s cross on 32 minutes to give the hosts the lead.
Less than five minutes later, Modeste looked to have scuffed his shot from Zhang Cheng’s cut-back wide, only for it to deflect off the unfortunate Paulinho and into the back of the net to give the visitors a mountain to climb.
Wang Yongpo’s cross from the right was then headed in by Sun Ke in the 39th minute as Paulo Sousa’s side threatened to run riot, only for the half-time whistle to halt their momentum.
Kitchee were able to arrest the slide after the restart, but Wang almost added a fourth when his curling free-kick was expertly saved by goalkeeper Wang Zhenpeng midway through the half.
The 3-0 victory edges Tianjin above Korea Republic’s Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on goal difference at the top of the standings after the 2016 champions came from two down to record a 3-2 win over Japan’s Kashiwa Reysol in Tuesday’s earlier Group E fixture.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Kuala Lumpur: The big kick off to the 2018 AFC Champions League will see a number of world-renowned players take to the stage for the first time in Asia’s biggest club competition.
With FIFA World Cup and UEFA Champions League winners among the debutants, the-AFC.com picks out five stars who could shine in the weeks and months ahead.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Kuala Lumpur: With the AFC Champions League set to kick off on Monday, the-AFC.com picks out 10 stars to watch ahead of the return of Asia's biggest club competition.
Photos: Getty Images, The AFC
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Kuala Lumpur: As the clock ticks down towards the 2018 AFC Champions League, a number of big-name forwards have been snapped up by clubs across the continent.
With less than a week to go until the big kick-off, the-AFC.com looks at some of the movers who already boast invaluable experience in Asia’s biggest club competition and know exactly how to find the back of the net.